Pinrenne Thesis

1.) The Pirenne Thesis The Pirenne Thesis was proposed by Henri Pierenne while he was a prisoner of war during WW1. His idea was primarily that the shape and control of Medieval land was determined by the control of waterways. He said that these waterways created trading hubs that dominated economic and political power in itself. He also contained that Islam did more to expand things than Charlemagne did. He is quoted as saying, "Without Islam, the Frankish Empire would have probably never existed, and Charlemagne, without Muhammad, would be inconceivable. " His theory at the time was highly controversial and was the cause of great ostracism for the rest of his life. Since his death though, his theory has gained more and more credibility
and has gone a great way in expanding our understandings of the medieval world.

2.) The Schism of 1054 The Schism of 1054 is an event that defined religious methods and theological alliances for the course of history.
It divided Christianity into two parts. The Catholic church to the west and the Orthodox church to the east. This split the church into different theological, political, military, and geographic divisions. Many thought it would lessen the impact of the church in matters of the state, but it only went to further strengthen it in their local areas.

3.) Concordat of Worms This was an agreement between the Pope and the Holy Roman Emperors. It allowed the kings to give political power to the bishops and to appoint them for political purposes. The Pope retained the power though for all matters of a spiritual and religious nature in regards to ruling bishops. The meeting was between Pope Calixtus II and Holy Roman Emporer Henry V on September 23, 1122. The idea behind the meeting was to bring to an end all the power struggles between the two sides.

4.) Franciscans/ Dominicans The Franciscans and the Dominicans are the two greatest orders of begging friars. Both were established by Honorious III in 1216 and 1223 respectively. The were established later once the Pope had more power to create arms that we able to do his specific bidding. The are important because they were able to execute the desires and wishes of the Pope and be used as a great tool of force during power
struggles.

Essay Questions 1.) Feudalism and Manorialism brought about more negative consequences to Medieval Europe than they did positive benefits. People who lived under these systems were more or less being held down instead of be given the chance to prosper. All the work they did went to serve the lords. They were not really given the chance to do anything to further their own life. The system was derived out of necessity to survive, so in that instance it was good. It went a long way though to de -emphasizing creativity, ingenuity, and creativeness. There was no benefit to creating something new because you had no chance to advance beyond where you were already back. The feudal and manor lifestyle went a long way in holding back the advancement of the human race for nearly two centuries.

2.) Muhammad has been one of the most transfixing figures of human history.
He was born in the city of Mecca in 570AD. Early in his life he had to flee from Mecca to the near by Medina to escape persecution from nearby tribes. He gained notoriety as a prophet because of the claimed visions he received from his god Allah during his life. He began to compile these revelations he said he was receiving into a book, known as the Koran. He gained the reputation of a warrior out of necessity. His claims and lifestyle was met with opposition from those around him. His teachings claimed that those around him were out of the will of his god and they were wrong. He decried polytheism and idol worship and said that everyone needed to worship only his god allah. Many people therefore began to see him as a threat and infidel so he had to become a skilled warrior and military leader just to be able to survive. It is easy now to look back and see how the life of Muhammad has gone a long way to shape the rest of human
history.

3.) The life of a medieval Jew would not be one that I would want to pursue for my life or for the life of my children. Jews in this time had it pretty rough. There was no state of Israel. THey had no land to really call home and their own. They were pilgrims trying to live in a foreign land amongst others who normally did not want them there. Due to these facts they were often living in very small sects together and were greatly outnumbered by those around them. They were often looked down on and seen as outcasts or pariahs. They had to often just take whatever jobs were left after no one wanted them. They were looked down upon and mocked for this too. They were often blamed for whatever went wrong in the city. If something was to go wrong they were the first to be looked at as guilty. An example of this would be with the Bubonic Plague or the Black Death. People were quick to blame it on the Jews and make them further outcasts. The life of a medieval Jew was by no means an easy one, and is something I would not have wished on anyone.